This invention relates in general to an optical switch, more particularly a small or miniaturized optical switch in which a light beam is transmitted and intercepted by moving an intercepting plate or a prism by means of a shape memory alloy and the like.
In a conventional optical switch, as shown in FIG. 9, a plunger 52 is moved to the left side and to the right side by means of an electromagnet comprising an iron core 53 and a coil 54 so that a diverter or deflector 56 is swung to cause an optical fiber 55 to move and thereby diverting a light beam.
In the conventional optical switch, however, the use of an electromagnet results in a large volume of the switch and thus there are obstacles to miniaturizing the optical switch. Thus, there have been needs for developing a miniaturized switch in order to meet the miniaturization of instruments.
Moreover, in the conventional optical switch, due to the fact that the optical fiber is moved verticaly, i.e. upwardly and downwardly, failures or damages of the switch would shorten its lifetime.
Moreover, in the conventional switch, it is very difficult to align the left and right elements of the optical switch with each other, and thus the switch is significantly expensive.